1973 Richmond 500
| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 3 of 28 in the 1973 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season | |||
 Richmond International Speedway | |||
| Date | February 25, 1973 | ||
| Location | Richmond Fairgrounds Raceway (Richmond, Virginia) | ||
| Course | Permanent racing facility 0.542 mi (0.872 km) | ||
| Distance | 500 laps, 271 mi (436 km) | ||
| Weather | Temperatures reaching a maximum of 57.9 °F (14.4 °C); wind speeds up to 9.9 miles per hour (15.9 km/h)[1] | ||
| Average speed | 74.764 miles per hour (120.321 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Bobby Allison | Bobby Allison Motorsports | |
| Time | 21.453 seconds | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Richard Petty | Petty Enterprises | |
| Laps | 227 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 475 |
Richard Petty |
Petty Enterprises | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | untelevised | ||
| Announcers | none | ||
The 1973 Richmond 500 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series (now Sprint Cup Series) racing event that took place on February 25, 1973 at Richmond Fairgrounds Raceway (now Richmond International Raceway) in the American community of Richmond, Virginia.[2][3]
This race would essentially jumpstart what would become the "year of the smaller engine" while declining sponsorship interests for the drivers resulted in NASCAR keeping the bigger gas-guzzling engines from being abolished completely.
Summary
Five hundred laps took place on a paved oval track spanning .542 miles (0.872 km) for a grand total of 271.0 miles (436.1 km).[2][3][4] It took three hours and thirty-seven minutes for the race to reach its full conclusion in front of eighteen thousand audience members.[2][3][4] Notable corporate sponsors for this event were limited in number; these sponsors included Coca-Cola, Kentucky Fried Chicken and Nord Krauskopf's K&K Insurance.[2]
Richard Petty defeated Buddy Baker by 13.6 seconds.[2][4] Eight cautions were given for seventy-eight laps.[2][3][4] The other drivers in the top ten were: Cale Yarborough, Bobby Isaac, Dave Marcis, Bill Dennis, Lennie Pond, Cecil Gordon, James Hylton, and Benny Parsons.[2][3][4] Notable speeds were: 74.764 miles per hour (120.321 km/h) as the average speed[4] and 90.952 miles per hour (146.373 km/h) as the pole position speed.[2] Canadian driver Vic Parsons started in 27th place and ended the race in 30th place (out of 30 drivers).[2][3][4]
Total winnings for this race were $35,600 ($187,206.9 in today's money).[3][4][5] DiGard Motorsports would throw their collective hats into what would become their debut race as a NASCAR Cup Series team.
Finishing order
- Richard Petty
- Buddy Baker
- Cale Yarborough
- Bobby Isaac†
- Dave Marcis
- Bill Dennis
- Lennie Pond
- Cecil Gordon†
- James Hylton
- Benny Parsons†
- Walter Ballard
- Elmo Langley†
- Jabe Thomas
- Bill Champion†
- Bobby Allison
- Henley Gray
- Buddy Arrington
- Charlie Roberts
- John Sears†
- Richard D. Brown*
- Sonny Hutchins*†
- Frank Warren*†
- Tiny Lund*†
- Neil Castles*
- Donnie Allison*
- Ray Hendrick*†
- Dean Dalton*
- David Sisco*
- J.D. McDuffie*†
- Vic Parsons*
* Driver failed to finish race
† signifies that the driver is known to be deceased
References
- ↑ "1973 Richmond 500 weather information". The Old Farmers' Almanac. Retrieved 2011-02-22.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 "1973 Richmond 500 information". Racing Reference. Retrieved 2010-11-30.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 "1973 Richmond 500 information (third reference)". Ultimate Racing History. Retrieved 2011-02-27.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 "1973 Richmond 500 information (fourth reference)". Race Database. Retrieved 2011-03-01.
- ↑ "1973 Richmond 500 information (second reference)". Stat Sheet. Retrieved 2010-11-30.
| Preceded by 1973 Daytona 500 |
Richard Petty's Career Wins 1960-1984 |
Succeeded by 1973 Gwyn Staley 400 |